


tender & tenacious

by cloudii



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aquariums, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Art, Presents, Sappy, The Absolute Sappiest, anniversary date, human plaxum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 11:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11462421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudii/pseuds/cloudii
Summary: You need tenacity and tenderness. That is how to love.





	tender & tenacious

**Author's Note:**

> This got so long oh my,, but I'm doing the world a service by writing plaxance tbh?? There are like two (2) fics of them and it's appalling, disgusting, my children are STARVING. 
> 
> S/o to avocatdelapoursuite on tumblr, their plaxance art inspired this!! Go check them out if u haven't!!!!!!!!

Lance rushed out of his bedroom and into the living room for the fourth time today. He spread out his arms and looked at his roommate expectantly.

"Is it too casual? It's too casual, I'll change." He blurted out before Hunk had the chance to get in a word.

Hunk sighed as Lance ran back to his room yet again. "For the last time, you look fine." He yelled, though he knew that there was no point in reasoning with him when he got like this.

"I have to be sure!" Lance yelled back from his room.

Only moments later Lance was walking back towards his best friend, various articles of clothing cluttering his arms. He sat down next to Hunk on their couch.

"So," He started.

"Oh boy."

Lance pointedly ignored the other boy. "So, I thought it through, and I think casual might be the way to go. Just like, a different casual? Put together casual."

He laid various shirts across the coffee table then repositioned himself cross-legged on the couch. "I think I'm gonna go with the pants I already have on, but I'm blanking on a shirt. Is a t-shirt too casual or no? Would a button up be trying too hard? It's the aquarium, it's not like people dress up to go there. Should I wear my favorite jacket? Should I go no jacket? It's not that cold outside, but the building has AC and it might rain later so who knows."

He ranted on and on, and eventually Hunk groaned and said, "Lance, it's not like this is your first date with her. I doubt Plaxum's gonna care what color your shoes are, you've been dating for a year."

"That's exactly why I'm worried!" He exclaimed, voice cracking. He moved to hug his knees. "It's our anniversary, Hunk. It's the perfect time for everything to mess up and fall apart."

Hunk pat his best friend on the back. Lance replied by mournfully groaning yet again. 

It was their first anniversary, so Hunk could understand his roommate's worry. Though it did seem a bit excessive. He sighed.

"How about I pick out your outfit this time?" He offered.

Lance let out a muffled, "M'kay."

•

Florona held out a still hanged shirt against Plaxum.

"No."

She held out another with her other arm.

"Mm, close. Good color. But no."

Plaxum let out a deep sigh, "Do I get a say in this?" She'd been standing around and trying on clothes the past hour. Which, when you don't have much a say on what you're trying on, isn't too much fun.

Florona ignored her friend's complaining and turned around back to Plaxum's closet, perusing through it as if it were her own. 

The sounds of hangers being pushed back and forth filled the small, homey bedroom. Looking for something fancy in Plaxum's closet was as useless and returning to the fridge when you know there's nothing inside. Florona was just hoping something would magically appear. (Nothing did.)

Plaxum sighed yet again, and her friend chastised her for it as she turned around to face with more clothes.

"Oh, shut up and try this on." She held out another outfit. Plaxum looked it over.

"I think I already tried this one on, Flora." She said.

"You..." She looked down to what she was holding then groaned. "This is impossible."

Plaxum sat down on her bed, "Well, you tried." She pat her hand on the space next to her in welcome. Florona took her up on her offer. "Though it wouldn't be so hard if you stopped trying to make it formal."

"But it's your anniversary!" She cried out.

"We're going to the aquarium, not a fancy restaurant." Plaxum shot back. Her face softened, "I know you have good intentions, but I don't think that whether or not Lance has seen me in a certain shirt before is going to make or break my date."

"I know, I just..." Florona lifted her head to look at Plaxum. "He makes you so happy, Plax. I just want you to look special, is all."

Plaxum raised a brow along with a smirk, "Don't I always look special?"

"You know what I mean!"

Plaxum laughed at her friend, then stood up and stretched. "How about this." She began. "I'll pick out my own outfit." 

Florona opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by Plaxum turning around with a finger pointing her way. "And you can do my makeup, deal?"

After thinking for a moment, Florona nodded. "Deal."

A smile stretched across Plaxum's face, "Then lets get to work!"

•

Lance bounced his leg as he sat, a wide jewelry box in his hands.

It was his and Plaxum's first year anniversary, and Lance thought it was a good idea to get her something. As far as jewelry went, she was always a necklace kind of girl. But it had to be special.

He opened it to find two gold necklaces.  
'Lance' on one and 'Plaxum' on the other.

"She's gonna love it." Came Hunk's voice from behind him. Lance laid his head back against the couch and looked up at his roommate.

"You think so?" He questioned.

"Uh, I know so?" Lance laughed at his friends face, which looked offended that Lance would even consider the possibility of him being wrong about this.

"I know that everything's probably gonna go fine I'm just..." a sigh. "I'm just being dumb."

"You're not dumb." Hunk said forcefully. He walked around to sit next to Lance, "You're nervous, which is normal."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, they just both sat there in comfortable silence. Lance tapped his nails against the box in his hands. His outfit was ready, shoes were on, he had to leave in the next five minutes. Five minutes of worrying, so far.

"I really love her, Hunk." Lance said wistfully. "I don't wanna mess something up somehow."

"And you won't." Hunk sat up straight, put a hand on Lance's shoulder, and looked him in the eyes. "You're gonna go pick her up, have a great time, give her your fantastic gift, and overall sweep her off her feet. If you don't feel confident, pretend you do. Fake it till you make it."

Lance sat up, "Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" A smile danced it's was onto Lances lips. "Thanks, Hunk, that... helped."

"It's what I do."

Lance checked the time on his phone, 12:31. He stood up quickly, "I have got to go." He grabbed him phone and his jacket and darted to the door.

"Have fun!" Hunk called out. "Oh and Keith'll be here when you get back, I think he's spending the night." He said a bit quieter.

"Oh?" Lance paused at the door and sent a teasing smile Hunk's way.

"What's that face? We're just... hanging out. Y'know... like buds do." He attempted to keep his voice level but his blushing face gave him away.

Lance's grin stayed plastered on his face as he said "Okay, okay. Well, I hope you and your not-boyfriend have fun." And shut the door.

"We're not dating!" He heard from inside the apartment. Lance cackled and made his way to his car.

•

Plaxum scrolled through her texts with Lance, checking when he was going to pick her up one last time. 1 'o clock. It gave them plenty of time to go to the aquarium, eat, and maybe take a walk somewhere.

She scrolled down to today's texts. She smiled at her boyfriend's wake up call.

Lancelot <3: u up yet, morning glory? today is the day!!! <3333

"What a sap." She muttered to herself.

Lance was definitely an affectionate guy, and he seemed to pick a new pet name every other hour. Not that she minded. (It was one of the cutest thing about him.)

"Do you have a jacket? The aquarium can get a little chilly." Florona nagged from the other room.

"No, mom." Plaxum laughed at her own joke. "If I brought one then I wouldn't be able to wear Lance's." She noted.

"How sly. Oh!" Florona popped her head into the living room, "Speaking of jackets, did you finish yours in time?"

"I did!" She gleamed. Plaxum got onto her knees and reached under the couch for a box. She held it proudly and opened it for her roommate.

Inside was a yellow jacket, made by hand. It looked poofy and cozy, and had a stitched in design of stars and a seashell on one side.

"Do you think he'll like it? She asked softly.

"Plax..." She put a hand on her shoulder. "He's gonna love it."

They both heard a knock on the door. Plaxum quickly closed the box, put it down, and practically skipped towards the door.

Lance's eyes lit up the second he saw his girlfriend. "Hey there, dewdrop. Ready to go?"

Plaxum reached up onto her tip-toes give her boyfriend a kiss then smiled, "Just let me get a few things." But when she turned around the box was open and empty. She looked over to Florona.

"I sneaked it in your bag." She whispered with a wink, then handed Plaxum her purse.

"Thank you." She replied.

She lifted her bag onto her shoulder and returned to the front door, "Let's go!" She said enthusiastically as she playfully pushed her boyfriend towards the exit.

They giggled all the way to the car.

•

Their conversation was easy and casual. It definitely helped Lance calm down. Plaxum always calmed him down. She talked faster than her brain could form the words coming out of her mouth but Lance enjoyed every conversation they had.

She was talking about the fish they were about to see, among other things. She'd mention how see wished she could swim with them, how she wished she could just be a mermaid already. And of course mermaid exist, Lance, there have been multiple sightings! She swore she saw one herself when she was 9. (Florona, who was also there, stated otherwise.)

Before they knew it they were pulling up to the building. It was an aquarium and reptile rescue center that had been there for years. 

Walking through brought back memories. There was a reason they decided to come here for their anniversary, after all. They met here, nearly two years ago through mutual friends getting together. Florona started dating Allura and Shay, and they wanted all their groups of friends to meet. Lance and Plaxum became fast friends, and the rest is history.

They examined the sea creatures surrounding them as they walked hand in hand. It felt like any other old date, and that's what made it perfect.

They stopped now and then to look at something specific, from marveling at how tiny a turtle was to attempting to mimic a grumpy looking fish's face. The place was nearly empty on that Monday afternoon.

Lance couldn't help but notice how the water made Plaxum look varying shades of blue and green. He loved how it blended with the dyed ends of her braids. If he were to believe that anyone was secretly a mermaid, his girlfriend was definitely the most suspicious. She loved the water and everything that lived in it. She was the most gorgeous person he'd ever seen. She was his siren, so beautiful that he seemed to forget about everything else every time he caught a glance.

Now seemed like the right time.

"Y'know..." he began, slowing their pace down as they came to a stop in the one of the overhead tanks. The room was empty and the colorful fish seemed to sparkle as they swam around the two. If you looked up, all you could see was water, and you could imagine that you were inside the tank, that you were a mermaid. "I got you something."

"Oh?" She smiled and swung their clasped hands back and forth, "And what would that be?"

Lance led them to a bench in the center of the room and they sat down together. He reached into the pocket of his jacket. "It's been a long year, and a good year at that. A great one. Probably one of the happiest years of my life. So I thought I'd get us both something, since we spent so much of this year together."

When he opened the box, the gold seemed to glitter under the lighting of the saltwater. A treasure chest with their names written inside.

"Lance," A hand rose to her face, speechless. "sweetheart, I love it." You could tell the widening smile on her face was genuine, she couldn't seem to let it fall.

She took out the one saying 'Lance' and began to wrap it around her neck.

"Let me." Lance intervened, placing the box on the bench so he could clasp it for her.

The gold contrasted beautifully against her dark skin. Seeing his name so intricately carved and so delicately placed across Plaxum's collar bones made butterflies swirl in his stomach. It was like he was seeing her for the first time again.

Lance picked up the other necklace, which said 'Plaxum'. 

"Let me." It was Plaxum's turn to connect the ends of the jewelry and lay the gold across the top of her boyfriend's shirt.

The color complimented his eyes so well, they both glimmered together in the soft teal lighting. The shine brought out the few freckles dusted over his nose and the dimples indented on either side of his smiling face. He was beautiful.

Plaxum looked up from admiring their new necklaces, "I got something for you too, actually."

Lance's eyes lit up, "You did?"

She nodded, then pulled out the yellow jacket she had been showing Florona before they left. She pushed it towards Lance with a little too much force, not quite knowing what to say. "I made it."

His reaction was instant.

"You made this? How long did it take? I didn't even know you knew how to make stuff life this, it's amazing!" He held the jacket gingerly and looked at it from all angles, taking in his girlfriend's creation. 

"Wait." He paused, "Is this why Hunk asked to take my measurements? He told me it was for a school project but it seemed kinda fishy."

She breathed out a laugh, "Yeah, I still owe him for that. I'm just glad he didn't blab about the jacket specifically."

"He is pretty bad at secrets."

Plaxum patted her legs, "Well, try it on!" Her excitement was easy to see through. Lance chuckled at her eagerness.

He took off his dark green jacket and put on the new one. It was a little big, but better than a little small. His hands drifted over the stitching, delicately tracing over the embroidered stars surrounding one pink seashell.

"Dewdrop, it's perfect. I love it." He smiled.

"I'm glad, I did spend a good 6 months on it." She mentioned offhandedly.

Lance's hands paused their roaming, "6 months?"

"Well, it was going to be a birthday present. But it was taking way too long so I got you something else for that. Sewing the sleeves on proved to be harder than I thought, and this was the first time I made something this big to this specific measurements. I wasted a bunch of time in the beginning just picking out fabric; I thought yellow brought out your skin tone nicely though. And at first I wanted to add a hood but I already knew I was going to miss your birthday so I just made a regular collar, and..." She yammered on and on.

Lance sat with his chin in one hand and traced Plaxum's with his other. Maybe he was feeling extra sappy today, but just watching her rant and looking at the way her lips moved had him entranced. 

The hand caressing Plaxum's traced over her fingers as he listened to her talk. They both did a lot of that; a big part of their relationship was taking turns listening.

"Oh!" Plaxum caught herself mid sentence. "I ran off with that thought a little bit, huh?"

Lance gave a breathy laugh at his girlfriend's absentmindedness. Watching her drift off into her own thoughts only to come snapping back to reality never got old. "Just a bit."

After staying in that room for so long, another small group of people did walk in. The two of them decided maybe it was time to keep walking through the facility. Plaxum picked up Lance's other jacket.

"Hmm, I guess someone should wear this now. I wonder who should..." She teased, a mischievous glint in her dark eyes.

"Was that you're whole reason for making me a new jacket, missy?" Lance replied, she looked so cute when she got playful like that.

She slipped on the jacket, which was way too big for her, and lifted the hood over her beanie. "Maybe... or maybe not."

"Uh huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms but she was still grinning wide.

"Nothing." Lance said, feinting ignorance. It didn't last for long and his ever infecting smile returned. "I can't even pretend to be annoyed when you look that cute." 

He motioned to her sleeves and how floppy they were. Plaxum blushed, "Don't."

"So teeny~" He sang, not caring that strangers could hear them.

His partner blushed harder, "I'm not even that short!"

"So tiny~" He continued.

She covered her face, "This backfired."

They took turns teasing each other the rest of the way through.

•

By time they got outside it had started to rain. The two of them both lit up.

Their inner children let loose and they splashed their way to the car, wet socks be damned. The only thing they tried to not get wet were their new matching stuffed animals they'd fetched at the gift shop. A dolphin for Lance ("How basic..." "Shut up!") and a manta ray for Plaxum.

They both let out sighs of relief when their doors shut. It was nearly 5pm, now.

"Hungry?" Lance asked as he inserted the keys into the ignition.

"Ugh, yeah." Plaxum stretched and yawned, "You in the mood for anything?"

They quietly bickered as Lance drove, and it all felt terribly domestic. The gray sky had them both tired, once they chose a place to eat they sat in a comfortable silence.

•

After eating their 'slightly above average than normal' food, it was about 6:45. They still had a little while till the sun started to set. Eventually they opted to go on a walk before their day was done.

They were walking down a path in a park near Plaxum's apartment. The warm light flickered through the leaves that were still wet from the rain. But the sky had long since cleared up, the clouds were now white and wispy.

"It's been a year..." Lance muttered, like he still couldn't believe it. Plaxum looked his way and they locked eyes. "I don't regret a second of it." He finished.

It wasn't as if their relationship was perfect. It wasn't as if they'd never fought or hurt or broke down. But they worked through it together, that is what love is.

You need a little tenacity and a little tenderness. You need a lot of patience and never ending trust. You need someone to laugh with and someone to respect. That is what love is.

They walked for what felt like hours, they walked till the sun began to set. They walked till they could see the orange reflections off of each others skin and equally marveled at the other's beauty. Neither said a word, they didn't have to.

That is what love is.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you v much for reading! I'd love to write more plaxance, and more vld in general. But I just get into writing mooods for like two days then?? Nothing for a month. Sorry,,
> 
> Hopefully I'll update w/ smthn not too long from now! Have a nice day/night!


End file.
